The objective of this study of epidemic asthma is to develop models enabling the predictions in time and space of asthma epidemics by first: finding reliable and objective procedures for identifying such epidemics, second: to examine and interpret long-term trends in asthma, and third: to identify environmental factors including pollutants both man-made and biological and meteorological parameters associated with the epidemics. The procedure will use data from municipal hospital emergency rooms in New Orleans and New York City, meteorological and demographic data, and such information as is available on industrial pollutants or natural allergens as seems relevant. Appropriate statistical techniques for time series analysis and cluster analysis have already been developed by the group, and additional techniques will be developed as needed.